Project Eximius
by Moonraker One
Summary: In 1989, the old way of doing things ended the moment humans started developing powers. Now, in an institute off the coast of Japan, young superhumans are taught to harness their powers. A RE-IMAGINING OF THE DC UNIVERSE
1. Chapter 1

Project Eximius  
by Moonraker One

Author Notes: This started out as a joke idea. I did a photoshop of Akira Toya as Superman and it snowballed from there. If you go to deviantart, and look up the user "moonrakerone," that's me, and it's a photoshop called "Super Toya." It may have been just an itch, but I felt I needed to write about it.

CHAPTER ONE – The Super Man exists, and he is Japanese

"It started when the old way of doing business ended."

The voice came from a mid-forties man with the lines and other stains of age on his face. He had graying hair and his white coat had numerous gadgets attached to it at the belt. He had green eyes which held a look of discomfort. Just speaking put him on edge because of where he was. Not seven feet from him, in the front row of desks, was the most important student in his classroom. Garbed in a dress suit with effeminate black hair that hung down to the start of his neck and surrounded three-quarters of his head like a curtain, and youthful facial features with mild blue eyes, was Akira Toya. The young boy paid close attention to the board as the moderately discomforted teacher wrote important dates. The other students were of varying age between ten and sixteen, with hair varying between light blonde and ebony black, and faces varying from soft features to hardened foreign features. Each wore a dress suit with the same color and texture; a dark blue jacket and pants with light blue undershirt and a black tie. They looked quite uniform despite their different faces; however, the major difference between them was also the reason they were gathered together.

"In ninteen eighty-nine," the instructor continued, "before some of you were born, the way countries partake in international politics changed forever." He pointed to several spots on the world map, each signified with a red X. "The original Cold War was between the United States of America and the Soviet Union." He indicated those countries. "But it was realized in the late eighties that nuclear weapons were not the deadliest thing mankind had yet discovered. Science had led to the realization and creation of superhuman beings, such as yourselves, and that became the new Cold War." He pointed to a student with his hand raised. "Yes, Kakumaru?"

The student with bowl-cut blonde hair lowered his hand. "I thought you taught us that traditional superpowers, like the kind in fictional media, is impossible?"

The teacher gave him a smile and a finger point. "You're getting ahead of me, Kakumaru." He used his pointer to indicate the red X's on the map. "The X's on this map signify points on the globe where people were discovered who had the very first, true psychic abilities. Psionic powers had never been seen before, and even though these people had very basic powers—they might be able to levitate small objects, or make small orbs of light, nothing powerful—it proved to be a turning point in human history. Countries spent billions experimenting on people to create superbeings of incredible psionic powers, and it almost lead to World War Three until the World Organization, the successor to the antiquated United Nations, passed a law requiring humane treatment of superbeings." He pulled down a display screen, which had graphs and diagrams of the human brain. "As per Kakumaru's question, yes; the superpowers you read about in comic books are largely impossible. But psionics is possible. The old myth that you use only seven or so percent of your brain is a lie, but not completely; you only _think_ with around seven percent of your brain. The rest utilizes the four fundamental forces of nature—gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear interactions—to create powers in ordinary people such as yourselves. And that is what brings you to this class."

A boy raised his hand. "So, we're sent here to learn how to use our superpowers?"

The teacher nodded. "Yes, Michio. In fact, some of you may not even realize you have powers, but believe me, if you are sitting in front of me, it is because locked within your brains are the ability to do things ordinary people cannot." He turned to the board to write down a paragraph of information. "And unlike in the past, the governments will not force you to their will as if you were a slave of the old days. Instead, you will be instructed so that you can use your powers for the better of mankind, if you so choose." Just then, there was a knock on the door. The teacher looked over, and upon seeing the face of the person on the other side, excused himself to talk to him.

"Kuchima-san," the man said to the classroom teacher, "you will report to me if Toya-san experiences anything during your class, right?" He was an elderly man with many years stained on his face.

The teacher put his hands on his hips. "Godora-san," he huffed, "I understand that Akira Toya is our prized pupil, but do you have to tell me? I'm fully aware of his importance. He was, after all, the first to score above a hundred in the possibility scale. Our next strongest student to him is only a thirty-six."

Godora put his hand on the teacher's shoulder. "I'm just reminding you. The core of the experiment rests on us unlocking the potential in that skull of his." He walked away.

The teacher shot him a look. Then he went back into the classroom. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "Anyway, let's get down to the core of the lesson for today." He pointed to a list on the display screen and a diagram on the other. "There are five basic categories of psionic powers. Kinetic-based powers, which are some variation of psychokinesis, involve the mind moving something either remotely or through touching the object, which is tactile telekinesis. This could be anything from lifting an object to slicing a block of something with your mind. Energy-based powers, which involve the generation of light or flame, or the manipulation of energy, such as electrical powers. We've even seen people capable of utilizing the energy of splitting the atom. Communication-based powers, which are some variation of telepathy. This involves either direct transfer of thought or feeling. Now, many of you are used to comic books where telepaths are "speaking" to each other mentally. In reality, thoughts are above language. If you communicate a dislike for something, another telepath will be able to understand you, even if you don't speak his language. Other types are enhanced senses, in which the psionic mind acts as a mental version of your basic senses. This ranges from super-hearing and sight to remote viewing, where someone can see thousands of miles away as if it were close. And the final type is temporal-based powers, which are some manipulation of time. The diagram above shows which parts of the brain utilize which types."

He turned to the class. "Any questions yet?" The class was silent. "Okay then. The next stop for many of you is the practice room, while for others you may be sent to analysis. Check your cards to see where you're going next." The bell rang. "This class is dismissed."

Akira Toya stood up from his seat and adjusted his collar. His card said that he would be given an hour of free time prior to his next session of analysis. This usually meant that he'd be having a game of Go with his father. The institute didn't usually give him free time to play Go, but whenever they did, it always meant he'd be enjoying himself. He was easily as good as a professional, thanks to his father teaching him on every free occasion he could. The fifteen year old boy had been playing almost every day since he was three years old. It was his favorite activity that didn't involve training to utilize his powers.

He saw his father, Koyo Toya, enter the hallway outside the classroom, and he perked up. "Good morning, son, was class eventful?"

Akira shook his head. "Not really. We learned about history from the start of World War Two all the way up to the end of the old Cold War and the start of the new Cold War, and then got a brief repeat of the lecture on psionic powers." He walked alongside his dad towards the private break rooms. "So, are we going to play Go today?"

"I'm having a game with a professional from the mainland of Japan, so I won't be back at the institute until two days from now, but I wanted to have a game with you, at least." He smiled at his son. "Here. I bought you a new board, since your old portable one was worn out." He handed him a plastic bag with an expensive looking goban in it. "The stones are already in your room, but I wanted to show you the board, since I paid a pretty good sum for it."

Akira smiled widely. "Wow! Thank you, father!" He had a question, and it was important to him. "Are we going to go to the mainland together soon? I mean, the institute treats us great and all, but when will I get to see the outside world?" He saw his father's smile fade a bit.

"The institute won't let you leave until you've proven that you've mastered your powers. It's a safety precaution, and what not."

"But, I haven't even used them yet! How do they know what would happen?"

Koyo led his son towards a clearly marked break room. "Let's not worry about that now. Let's get down to playing a game. You're already a professional, in terms of skill, did you know that? When you graduate, I'll have you go take the pro test. What do you think of that?"

Akira nodded, the news perking him up. "I'd really enjoy that." He sat down across the goban, in a very formal sitting position, and took a three-stone handicap against one of the top professionals in Japan, his father Koyo, also known as Toya Meijin. What they didn't know was that, even in the break room, they were being watched.

A male scientist of what appeared to be Chinese descent, turned to a female scientist of eastern European heritage. "Doctor Adams, what does the mental scans say of Akira Toya while he's playing the game?" He took a drink from a flask in his pocket. The institute didn't pay him enough to care this much about the kids.

She looked at the computer screen. "He's in a state of deep concentration, but none of his psionic centers appear to be active." She turned to her colleague. "This indicates the game isn't being affected by his powers; he's thinking purely skill-related. None of his extrasensory powers are affecting his thought."

"So he's not cheating in any way," the Chinese scientist replied. "That's interesting. You'd think with almost all of his mind activated psionically, that super-intelligence would be among them. I guess the analysis will have to tell us what the deal is."

She folded her arms. "What makes him the star pupil? We've analyzed him a few dozen times, and even with ninety-nine percent psionic activation, more than any other student by far,he's yet to display any superpowers." She turned to the screen. "I don't know. This just stinks of a false alarm."

"It's not up to us," the Asian scientist replied. "The big-wigs told us what to look for, not what to choose."

After Akira finished the game with his father, they discussed, in great detail, what caused the boy to lose, and what moves he should have made. It was a learning as well as a bonding experience, and afterwards, the father and son hugged and admitted that they loved each other, and departed. The younger Toya headed down the southern hallway towards the analysis rooms, and the elder Toya walked up the northern hallway towards the landing pad. A series of helicopters ventured between the island and the various other islands of Japan several times per day, and the father didn't want to miss his. His son made it to a cold exam room, labeled "1-b," and he laid down on a cold metal table.

"I'm ready for the tests," Akira said to the scientists behind bulletproof glass. "Let's get this over with." He stripped out of his suit while he waited, sitting up to do so. He carefully took off all of his clothing, a little at a time, until he was completely naked against cold metal.

"Just be calm, Akira, and this'll be over before you know it." The large glass hemisphere, attached to what looked like a crane arm, emitted an eerie blue light as it passed over every inch of the boy's body. The boy breathed quite hesitatingly due to the temperature of the table he lay on. After the electromagnetic scan of his tissue completed, the orb moved over to his head and surrounded his skull in a reddish grid pattern of light. "You don't seem to have any abnormal growths, and your tissue scan is normal, the only exception being a large number of stem cells, but that can be easily explained. Your muscle tone is sufficient to indicate you've been exercising appropriately." The scientist pressed a button on the computer several times, and a dozen different screens passed by. "Now we're just waiting on the results of your brain scan."

"Has there been any change in the psionic centers?" he inquired. His powers had yet to activate. Many of those even younger than him by several years had demonstrated their abilities already. One of his friends was quite strong, able to break through a laminated bulletproof window with his bare fist intact. He had yet to be able to do anything impressive besides beat everyone in the institute at Go.

The scientist's voice crackled over the speakers. "No. You've still got amazing potential for when it does activate, though. Still ninety-nine point four percent of your psionic centers are active. They just don't report significant activity." The orb retracted towards the ceiling and the lights resumed. "Any questions?"

Akira sat up. "Can I get dressed now? I have to remind you, I'm quite naked, and my genitals are touching cold metal."

This drew a laugh from the scientists. "Okay, Akira, you can get dressed. Make sure you head next to the testing center. They want to do some electro-stimulation tests."

He stood, and slid his clothing on one article at a time. The first object was an undersuit. Skin tight, yet breathable and flexible, it covered from the bottom of his legs to the collarbone, and all the way down the arms, leaving only the feet, hands, neck and above areas open. It was a light shade of blue, had remarkable thermal properties as well as being damage-resistant; it could withstand flame, tear and small caliber pistol fire. The chest of the blue undersuit had a shield symbol emblazoned on the chest; a red outline with yellow background, and a red S in the middle. This indicated he was a superhuman subject and not a scientist. A scientist's symbol was a circle and not a shield. Over it, he slid a pair of red underwear. It was made of the same material as the blue undersuit, and it had a yellow strap to hold it on. Over this, he donned his shirt, pants, jacket and tie. He also adjusted his belt.

The hallway had a series of subjects walking towards various rooms. Some on the left were recreation rooms, large enough to play a game of basket ball with one hoop, others with gym equipment or free weights instead of action games. Others on the left were study rooms, with bookshelves full of reading material from reference all the way to science fiction and fantasy. Most of the rooms on the right were test centers or mess rooms, where subjects could eat if they weren't comfortable eating in the cafeteria down the hall that connected to the main one via a turn at the end, right before the exit into the outside observation area. Akira knew his room was the third on the right, marked with a sign indicating it would be in use very shortly.

He stepped in and scanned his fingerprint on the console attached to the wall. "Hello, I'm here for my electro-stimulation test." A man in a lab coat walked up to him with a smile. "We're going to see if the telekinetic centers of your brain can be activated. Just stand on this platform." He led the boy up a tiny hill where he stood on a shiny metal platform and a pair of wristclamps attached to titanium cables were pulled up from the floor and attached to his wrists. The scientist then walked over to the right corner of the room below the observation window above, where he activated the computer console. Akira then felt a lot of resistance pull down as an electric current traveled up his arms. "The purpose of this, is to see if the brain responds to electric currents in your arms, and enables you to telekinetically summon enough strength to resist the pull of the cables." Almost involuntarily, he jerked upward, gritting his teeth as what seemed to be an incomprehensible force resisted his efforts. He let out a groan as he couldn't pull the cables. The scientist deactivated the console. "Negative. Barely seventy pounds of resistance. Let's see if a different frequency of electric stimulation will do any better." They conducted the same test with a different frequency of electricity, but the same result.

"Doctor," a voice came over the speaker from the above observation room, "shut off the test. Before we switch to another test, let's compare the data from the analysis with the previous test results so we can synchronize the databases." Six scientists on their consoles typed up the numbers from the previous tests and analyses. Akira stood patiently while the cables went lax.

Just then, a gunshot could be heard.

The scientists scrambled to get on the emergency channels. "What the hell just happened?" The scientist on the floor near Akira radioed to the main office. A crackle preceded an erratic response.

"One of the subjects...just killed a security officer...running around with a gun," then there was a scream and the line went dead.

"Just what we need," the scientist screamed, reaching for his gun in the case below the console. The next gunshot was much closer than the previous one. The scientist peered around the edge of the doorway, and the next gunshot caught him in the shoulder. Akira gasped as the man retreated to the middle of the room. The subject with the gun then stepped into his line of sight, and he carried a smaller student in his grasp by the neck. The tips of the tall, muscular Korean boy's fingers were glowing as they dug shallowly into the neck of the smaller boy. Blood trickled down to the floor at a mild pace.

Akira strained against the chains, eager to help his comrade. "Kido! Leave Kido alone, you bastard!" he screeched.

"I'm sick of this damn complex!" He shouted in Korean, "you're going to take me to the landing pad and we're going to the mainland, and if any of you tries to attack me, our friend Kido here will be eating a bullet!"

"Just calm down," the scientist attempted. "No one has to get hurt. We'll take you to the landing pad. Just put Kido down."

Akira grit his teeth angrily and pulled with all his might. "KIDO! ERRGH!" The cables went tight automatically as force was applied. As he yelled angrily, the previously insurmountable opposing force felt lighter and lighter against his pull.

The scientists were too busy being frightened by the attacker's display of aggression to see what the computer was recording instinctively, but they, as well as the boy, saw when the cables snapped like string. "So, Akira! His blood is on your hands then!" He pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to stop as Akira bounded forth from the platform. "KIDO! NO!" His friend, the attacker, the gun, and the flash from the muzzle all seemed to be in slow motion. Before he knew what he was doing, Akira had traversed the room, and put his hand, instinctively, over the muzzle of the revolver. Still operating on adrenaline, he failed to notice that he had stopped a bullet with bare flesh, nor did he notice the gun's metal crumbled like potato chips in his right hand. As Kido dropped out of the grip of his assailant, due to the distraction, Akira clasped his hand around the wrist attached to the hand holding the ruined gun, and with one jerk, threw the boy over his head behind him, where he flew up into the air and smashed against the reinforced glass of the observation window.

Akira snapped out of it the moment it was over. "W...what? What happened?" Nervously, he turned around and saw the boy, who fell from his body-shaped impression in the bulletproof glass, and sprawled out on the console three feet below. Frightened, he drew his gaze to the gun's metal, which looked like gravel, and then to a hyperventilating Kido, looking up at his friend Akira as though he were staring at a ghost. "D...did...did that just happen? Did I...do...that?"

The scientists expressions went from scared to happy. "Akira! You did it! You saved Kido!"

Bleeding from his shoulder, the doctor got on the phone. "The situation's over. No, that's irrelevant. You're not going to believe this. Toya stopped it. No, I'm not lying. He broke the testing cables—yes, you heard me, he BROKE the testing cables—then he stopped a bullet with his bare hand, crushed the gun, and stopped the attacker. Oh, I forgot to mention! He crossed the room in an instant!"

One scientist looked at the wreckage of the stress cables. "Those were tested at a thousand ton strength."

"And that glass is resistant to assault arms fire," another added.

The eldest in the room started examining the computer results. "It looks like we have ourselves a winner." He scanned his fingerprint on the scanner. "I think we found another subject for secondary training." He got on the intercom. "Akira?"

The young Toya looked up at the observation window. "I hope I didn't kill him," he sheepishly admitted. "I don't want to kill anybody."

"I don't think that hurt him. His powers were energy-based psionics. His body should recover." The man shook his head. "That's not what I wanted to say. Toya? You are hereby qualified to enter secondary training. What do you think of that?"

"Really? I'd love that!" This time, he jumped for joy.

One young scientist made an astute observation. "That display was only two percent of his psionic capacity." He shook his head. "That's amazing."


	2. Chapter 2

Project Eximius  
by Moonraker One

CHAPTER TWO – Masterworks

Young Akira Toya next found himself in a part of the complex he'd never seen before; the center for secondary training. Only forty superhuman candidates had ever passed through the doors marked with a restricted sign. Of those, only eighteen had ever gone forth into active duty out in the field of fighting. The young Go student found his amazement stimulated. He saw all variety of students of numerous nationalities utilizing their powers in various ways. Some were just walking down the hall, while others sat in closed observation rooms. One subject looked up from a four inch sphere of blue energy he twirled midair with his index finger to see Akira. Another floated a few inches above the ground as he headed towards his room. The first girl he saw sat in a chamber, reading off cards held by a scientist behind her back. It astounded him how ordinary these people looked.

"Okay, Akira," the guide stated, "For your observation and testing, you'll be in gymnasium number five." He waved with his hand towards a door thirty feet down the hall. "These will simply be a test of your abilities. There won't be anything complicated, like threshold analysis today." Calmly, he waited outside the door for the young student to enter before shutting the door. Akira shot him a glance as he walked into the gym.

"Toya-san!" One of the proctors waved at him and signaled for him to take off his suit. Piece by piece, he removed his jacket, tie, shirt and pants, revealing his red and blue undersuit with the S shield and his name on the front. "Today, we're going to test your abilities, to see a basic overview of what you're capable of. I've got a baseball launcher here, and I want you to either catch or deflect the ball. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Akira calmly responded. He nodded, readying his hands.

"Alright, then." The proctor activated the machine with a lever, and it started roughly, with a loud bang and then some rigid engine idling noise. The first ball shot out of the cannon, with a familiar "thoomp" of air escaping. Akira saw it fly towards him at incredible speeds, possibly over a hundred and fifty miles per hour. However, as he focused on it, and it approached him closer, it began to slow down. At first, its rate of deceleration wasn't terribly noticeable; as it was about twelve inches from him, however, it seemed almost to freeze in midair. Curious, he brought his hand up and caught it, and noticed that it barely had any pressure behind it at all. It startled and amazed him, even after having stopped the bullet just yesterday.

Several scientists observing the room from behind safety glass wrote down the results. The proctor in the gym moved the machine about twenty feet closer, significantly closing the gap. "Okay, Toya-san, let's see if you can stop it at this distance." The familiar air rushing sound exited the tube as another baseball fired out. It sailed through the air at the same incredible speed as the previous one, and managed to get the same distance from him as before when it slowed to a crawl yet again. Without fail he reached out and caught it again. As yet more results were written by scientists, the machine moved to a scant eight feet from where Akira stood. "This will be the final test of this type today, let's see how you fare against this short of a distance." For the third and final time that day, a baseball shot out of the cannon and rocketed towards the boy. At the mere distance of eight feet, it almost struck him in the chest before he shot his arm out and caught it. A grumble and a winding sound echoed through the gym as the machine powered down once the lever got pushed into its previous position. "That was exceptional, Toya-san, you may get dressed now and head back to your second sector quarters."

"Thank you, doctor," Akira said, bowing. He slid the dress pants over the blue leggings of his undersuit, and over the red underwear-like section of the pelvis, affixing the belt so his khakis stayed on. His white shirt he stuck his arms into and buttoned it up over the blue torso area of his undersuit, slowly covering his red S shield with its yellow background. Then he tied his tie and put on his suit jacket. The undersuit was fairly uniform for all test subjects; the features were the same with only their names different emblazoned on the front, with the last name over the S of the shield and the first name below it. However, they got to choose whatever suit they wanted. The dress suits being different, the scientists believed, would promote individuality while the undersuits being uniform represented teamwork.

While he stepped out of the gymnasium and into the common hallway of sector two, he saw more of the young people chosen for secondary training. He knew the reason they got moved to sector two was so that they could be prepared for field use as superhumans. Some of them looked quite familiar; as he had seen them in primary testing. There were a few, though, that he'd never seen before. Some of them weren't even of Asian descent. There was at least one with western European features and bright colored hair. He made his way to his chambers, scanning around for various faces, then he sat down and got out his goban. Within a few moments he had gotten out both colored stones and prepared to go over a game between two professionals a long time ago when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up. It was a young boy with brown hair that seemed to stick out towards the sides, though not extremely. "Hello," Akira politely inquired, "who are you?"

The boy made a gesture with his two index fingers together. "I'm Yoshitaka Waya," he introduced. Looking at Akira sitting on his bed, with a goban on the table, he shook his head. "So, this is the star pupil, Akira Toya, that all the scientists seem to be going on about being the 'most powerful psion' they'd ever seen." He teased a strand of the boy's hair with his index finger. "Honestly, I'd expected you to look really masculine."

Akira laughed a bit. "Well, I guess appearances can be deceiving." He motioned to the board. "Do you want to play?" He tapped the board once with his finger. "After all, you might give girly little me a run for my money."

Waya chuckled. "I don't think so, with you being the son of Toya Meijin and all, but this'll be fun." He sat down in a chair across from Akira. "Tell me, when did you get to the institute?" He placed a stone.

Akira looked up at him for only a brief instant before placing a stone. "I was about six years old when my father got a call from these people. They said they'd give me the finest education in Japan for no money at all." He waited for Waya to make his move and then he responded in turn. "My father might have lots of money from winning titles at Go, but you dangle the offer of 'free' in front of a person, and they'll go for it."

Waya carefully planned his next move after Akira placed a stone. "So, what do you really feel about this place?" Akira made a play and so he placed a stone to reply. "I mean, who knows why they're teaching us to develop our powers."

Akira made a strategic attack. "Yeah, you've got a point. I've always wondered that myself, but after all, there is a law in place where they can't misuse our powers. By the way, what are your powers?" His foe made a move and he made one as well.

"Photokinesis," Waya replied. "I can manipulate light with my mind." Akira made another move, and Waya did as well. "You? What're yours?"

Akira shook his head as he carefully plotted his next move. "I really don't know if I've even unlocked them all," he admitted, trying to be humble. "So far I'm impervious to harm, have super strength, and can move really fast." He made a move that was quite effective.

Waya did his best to retaliate to his opponent's attack. "Sounds like you're quite the salad bowl of powers. And you may have even more? Wow. I'd definitely want you by my side in a dark alley." His foe's assault damaged his ability to further his goal of territory, but he placed a stone that turned out to be quite a good move.

"Thanks. You can be quite useful yourself. I can think of at least a dozen different good uses for being able to manipulate light." He laughed mildly as he thought of a joke. "Hey, in the future, people might call you 'Doctor Light'!" Waya laughed out loud at that one. Akira placed a stone in defense to his enemy's attack, and after careful deliberation, the boy responded.

"Doctor Light," Waya chuckled, "that's a good one. What would I be a 'doctor' of?" This only caused them both to laugh again. More moves were played between the two of them. Both were amazed at the skill of the other. Waya could not believe how powerful Akira's go was, while Akira couldn't believe how effectively and for how long his foe skirted his strongest attacks with only minimal loss to territory.

For approximately fifteen more minutes the game prolonged. Waya found he simply could not overcome the level of skill that his opponent possessed, and he lost by eight points. Even though he felt Akira was not going all out, he bowed at respect for the skill utilized. The two shook hands and the light-effecting boy parted the room. Before leaving, though, he waved his hand in the air again. "If you ever want to play a game, I'm only six rooms down to your left."

"Goodbye, Doctor Light," Akira joked. He sat down and listened to music as he set up the goban for another simulated game. This time, it was a different set of professionals from the ancient world as he carefully analyzed every move between them in the book on his table. Piece by piece, he replayed the old game and saw the importance of every individual move. It took him only a half hour to finish the whole game, and at the end, he put his music player down and replaced his goban into the box. He knew that in a matter of an hour, there would be yet more instruction. Each day consisted of several different classes. These classes taught them everything they needed to know, from advanced science and math to philosophy and history.

Immediately after he finished his required work for the upcoming science class, he went to the bathroom and relieved himself. Checking the bathroom clock, he realized he had just enough time to take a quick shower and change before class. Hastily, he stripped completely naked. His dress suit and the blue and red under-suit he placed into a metal basket and slid down the laundry chute near the toilet. Into the shower, he turned on the water and relaxed from the excitement of having been moved to secondary training. The idea of being entered into field service hadn't really hit him yet, so he thought about what it meant. It meant he'd be utilizing his powers in the name of those who had been less than fortunate, and ensuring the safety and peace of the people. Never before had he embarked on a journey of such. It wasn't the power that he had that concerned him; it was the uncertainty of his own resolve. He knew his flaws; he knew they were apparent. He just hoped he could be selfless enough. As he washed his body and hair, he broke down the individual points of concern in his head.

After having cleaned himself, Akira put on a pair of briefs and slid a new under-suit over it. Then, he picked out one of his dress suits to wear. It didn't take but a few minutes to get fully prepared. Once dressed, he grabbed the science text and his papers. The hallway led down several passageways until he made it to the classroom. Entering, he took his seat.

"Welcome to physics, students," the teacher introduced. From their seats, the students bowed. "Today, we will be learning about the nature of psionic interaction. This is vitally important, because it is the basics of how your powers result from your mind and end in some effect in the physical world." He brought up a diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum. "The familiar types of energy which were known until the discovery of psychics are all here. The actual energy that causes these interactions comes from the various centers of your brain that are activated psionically."

"You see, students, each type of ability uses the same mechanism: the parts of your brain emit energy waves that travel through the higher dimensions—the ones we can't see—and stimulate target particles to do the things that result in your abilities." A student raised his hand. "Yes, Kodacho?"

"What are the higher dimensions, sensei?"

"I will reiterate what was said in a previous lesson." He brought up a list of the dimensions. "We are familiar with three dimensions of space: height, width, and depth, and one dimension of time; but these are not all. On the subatomic scale, smaller than the atom, there are more dimensions that are invisible to the human eye." He pointed out the individual aspects of quantum theory involving the higher dimensions. "You see, some particles, like electrons, are so small they can actually be both particles and waves at the same time." He pointed to a random member of the classroom. "Let's say Mitsuro here, who can levitate things with his mind, activates his power. The electrons moving between the pathways in his brain stimulate the electromagnetic waves that travel through these higher dimensions and affect gravitons, which in turn cause the target of his abilities to levitate. Understand?" He got several nods.

"Any time a psionic power is activated, the cause is the electric pathways in your brain stimulating vibrations of electromagnetic energy in the higher dimensions, and it affects some target some distance away. Whether it be solid, liquid, gas, or otherwise, this is what causes your powers to work." He wrote on the dry-erase board a series of pages in the textbook to read. "In order to get a better grasp on this, here are some pages I want you to read before the hour is up."

Akira read the pages with much enthusiasm. He looked at the diagrams of energy radiating forth from the mind and being directed by thought, and affecting the world around it, and marveled at the thought. It seemed to him like everything had a connection to everything else. The pictures seemed to communicate the gist of it better than the actual text, but he read both just to make sure that he had the full idea and not some partial clue. Actually reading about his powers made him feel more important than he particularly cared for, but he was able to suppress the feeling rather well.

Once he finished the text, there wasn't but a few minutes remaining, so he sat and thought about the nature of what he had just learned right before he left the classroom. It still remained with him as he headed towards the cafeteria. He shook it off as he entered the food area. The large indoor cafeteria had at least twenty tables. The line began near a metal divider by the far right wall. At least a dozen students were in a gathered line by the entrance way. He stood in line, not knowing what was going on.

"Okay, students, here is the drill," one of the officials said, holding up a red stick. "We're going to do a little test. Whoever reaches this stick first, gets to go through the line first." He heard several groans. "Don't worry, there's enough food for everyone. We just want to see abilities in use." He placed it on a table near the far back of the room. "When I lower my hand," he raised his arm above his head, "you can begin. Any of your powers you may use, just please try to do no damage to the structure." With the students eager in anticipation, he dropped his arm.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl around Akira. He utilized his super speed to burst ahead of the crowd. Some energy users hurled bolts of various types at him, some telekinetics tried to slow him down, while others tried to bound above him with force from their mind. He confidently left them in his dust and sped with incredible speed towards the stick. The red painted stick an inch away, he began to wrap his fingers around it.

And a blur zoomed past him, and it was gone.

Immediately, everyone came to a halt. A smiling figure waved the stick above his head.

From the back one of the students burst out in anger. "Shindo!" The muscular telepath in the back screeched. "You're an arrogant little prick, you know that, Hikaru?"

Hikaru Shindo laughed at him. "You're just mad because even the fastest of you get left in the dust," he bragged. "I'm there and back, like a _flash_."


End file.
